Better Than Boursin Snack Cheese

[ShadowsDad]

Better than Boursin

I call this Better than Boursin because of the lack of fat, but fat and/or oil can be added for a richer, creamier product. Without the additional fat/oil it’s quite dry, not spreadable, but definitely slice able.

Of course fresh herbs can be used if you have them. Finely chop them.

Ingredients:

1 gallon of whole milk converted into farmers cheese, well drained, in fact twisted in the muslin sack to extract even more of the whey (see recipe far below) Yield will be approx 1# 6ozs

OR

commercially made farmers cheese, but it will be too wet, so it needs to be wrung out in cloth as above. You want the same 1# 6 ozs or adjust the recipe. That isn’t difficult since it’s all to taste anyway.

Salt (I use Vege-Sal [vegetized sea salt] )
OR
Salted herbs/greens

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp - 1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp onion flakes (dry)
Tarragon (dry)
Chervil (dry)
Parsley (dry)
Sage (dry) *
Thyme (dry) *
Parsley (dry) **
Any other dry or fresh herbs you want to use
Olive oil or Grapeseed oil (optional)
Butter, softened (optional)

* very strong, so go easy with it
** a full teaspoon wouldn't be too much of this

Everything is to taste. If using dry herbs fine grind them in a pestle if they aren’t already fine ground. I find that a 1/4 tsp of most of the herbs are fine, the asterisked herbs are strong, so maybe a generous pinch of them is plenty. Be aware that the flavors will intensify as the cheese sits in the refrigerator.

If adding fat/oil put it in a foor processor and blend the bejabbers out of it. But you're really on your own with this since I don't add fat/oil to mine.
After mixing and flavoring the cheese I pack mine in a container then I let it sit in the refrigerator for a time to let the flavor develop. You could also form it into a log (make it tight in plastic wrap) to make slicing even easier and more presentable if you make this for a party or some such.

Farmers Cheese

"My Polish friend's mother gave me this recipe years ago. She has been making this cheese forever in her house and also ate it while growing up in Poland. This is an easy home made farmer's cheese. It doesn't age well, so be sure you eat it within a week after it's made - well, if you can let it last that long. If you bake with it, it melts very beautifully. It makes a perfect soft cheese for snacking."

Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk
1 pinch salt
1 large lemon, juiced OR (Brians change) 4 TBL white vinegar

Directions:
1. Pour the milk into a large pot (using a thin pot the milk will definitely scorch, use one with an encapsulated bottom), and stir in a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil (> 180°F) over low heat,
stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

2. When the milk begins to boil (small bubbles will first appear at the edges), turn off the heat. Stir lemon juice into the milk, and the milk will curdle. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes.

3. Line a sieve or colander with a cheesecloth (Brians note: I use muslin sewn into a triangle, seam out, or even and old and clean pillow case would work, turn it inside out so that the seam is outside), and pour the milk through the cloth to catch the
curds. What is left in the cheesecloth is the Farmer's Cheese. The liquid is the whey. Some
people keep the whey and drink it, but I throw it away. Gather the cloth around the cheese, and
squeeze out as much of the whey as you can. Wrap in plastic, or place in an airtight container.

4. Store in the refrigerator.

Note: Chopped onions, garlic, spices and whatever can be added to it for a soft cheese for crackers.

Brians Notes:

1) the hotter the milk the higher the yield of cheese and the clearer the whey.
2) 3 gallons whole milk yielded us 3# 13 1/4 ozs dry curd cheese.
3) I always have vinegar on hand but not lemons, in "the old country" peasants who made this cheese didn't run out to the market to buy lemons either even if they had the $ for them (they probably didn't). The vinegar couldn’t be tasted either in the cheese or the whey. BTW, the whey is delicious.
4) I suspect cider vinegar could be used since this is probably what they used in the old country. But if using CV be sure to boil it to kill the bacteria first.
5) I like this cheese, salted and peppered , spread on toast for breakfast. Be as generous as you wish since it’s really good for you.

[drmoss_ca]

For those who like to visit curry houses, kofta cheese used in some curries is made exactly like this. It's dead easy to do. One thing I would add is to scald all tools and containers with boiling water before making cheese or yoghurt, and wash your hands well. It will keep longer if not contaminated with bugs!

Chris

[ShadowsDad]

Chris, when the milk comes close to the boil isn't anything that touches it automatically scalded? It's easy to overthink things. It's difficult to remember that foods such as this are peasant food; think simple and done in a hovel by someone who just came in from tending to the cows and might not even have soap. FWIW, the herbs won't be scalded and they are added to the cheese when it's cold. I'm not saying to disregard sanitation, only that it's easy to overthink it.

[drmoss_ca]

Once the milk is poured into something else its temperature will drop surprisingly quickly. I was making yoghurt today and watching the thermometer climb to 180, then cool to 40 (when I mix in the culture). But I certainly scalded the container that the yoghurt sits in when being kept at that temperature for six hours - after all it's designed to grow bugs, so make sure they are the right ones! The chemical curdling of farmer's cheese is a different process, but your cheese muslin best be sterile, and whatever you store the cheese in when it goes in the fridge should also be sterile. I may be overthinking it, but it irks me when I make something and it goes off before it should, never mind the small risk of consuming something that could cause illness. But, it's your cheese and your call.

Chris

[ShadowsDad]

Of course someone could allow the mix to cool off, but it's not designed for that. I'm fairly confident that the temp of the curds and whey is right up there when it's put into the muslin if one wants to process it while it's hot as I do. The original recipe used 1/2 the amount of acid, and it took forever to curdle, so I upped it to 1/4 cup of acid per gallon of milk. At near the boiling point curdling isn't instant, but it's very rapid. It might take 2 minutes for the curds to form and the whey to get clear. Gentle stirring helps. One could always keep the flame on simmer to goose the temp a bit I suppose if someone was concerned. I haven't done that though. The curds might stick to the bottom of the pot.

The curds drain very rapidly, even faster if the muslin is twisted. Once they're drained they cool off quite rapidly.

You're right though, it would be an excellent medium for bacterial growth. I'm far more concerned about the herbs. They are air dried under uncertain conditions, and they probably aren't washed before drying as much as I would wash them at home if I was using fresh herbs. Then they're ground and thoroughly mixed throughout the cheese. Any contamination is also thoroughly mixed in with them. At the point of mixing, the cheese is at room temp, or at least that's how I do it. If someone really hustled and had hands made of asbestos I suppose the herbs could be mixed in when the cheese was still above 140°F and out of the danger zone. I don't know if that's high enough to kill harmful bacteria (I highly doubt it) or just where they don't like to grow. Of course it would need to pass through the danger zone during cool off. That's why I add mine at room temp'. It's immediately put into the refrigerator for further cool down so it's in the dnager zone for far less time after contamination.

[dosco]

Gents:
About 2 weeks ago I had an unpleasant experience with intestinal illness and decided to make homemade yogurt in an effort to get "good bacteria" in my gut as regularly and cheaply as possible. Plus I like to make stuff. (on an aside this is to some extent a recurring problem so I've made an appointment with an Gastroenterologist which will hopefully shed some light on what is happening).

Anyways I decided to start making yogurt. I've been thinking about it for quite awhile now, my dad used to make the stuff with a small incubator apparatus and I recall enjoying the tart treat with a shot of honey. So I've made 3 half gallon batches thus far using my crockpot with excellent results ... and after reading this thread I am wondering if cheese can be made from the yogurt?

I've noticed that as I consume the yogurt the whey drains out and the stuff thickens up nicely. Can cheese be made from this stuff?

Thanks in advance.

[ShadowsDad]

As you've noticed a sort of cheese can be made just by allowing it to drain (overnight). Don't throw the liquid out though. Our dogs love the stuff; I bet others do also, and it's every bit as good for a dog as it is for us. The resulting drained "curd" is quite tart, but that can be easily fixed with the right additions; things that work with the tartness or reset it. You'll figure it out. I'd help further, but it was MANY years ago, so for now you're on your own, experiment.

I made yogurt cheese many years ago, and after the 21st, after my Sansaire Sous Vide "machine" comes in, I'll probably make yogurt and all sorts of stuff from it again. But it will take me some time to get up to speed. We all have only 24 hours in a day. The SVM makes all sorts of things possible. (stay tuned)

[jww]

And to think when I first joined SMF, i thought it was just a group do wet shaving devotees. Little odd I realize the talent that is found within our membership. I am now hungry for cheese. Any kind of cheese, please.

[Squire]

Believe I hear a block of aged cheddar calling me as well.

[ShadowsDad]

That was a reminder for me...

I need to cold smoke a mess of cheese to get me through the year. I can do it any time of the year now, but winter keeps the cooker colder.

Maybe I'll throw some butter in the cooker to cold smoke that as well.

I'm not connected to this company, but with an Amaze-N-Smoker one could cold smoke with only a carton. In the past I jumped through all sorts of hoops to cold smoke for a maximum of 2 hours before it no longer was cold smoke. Now I can cold smoke for 5 hours. Longer if I only light one end of the maze. Lighting one end also puts out 1/2 of the heat.

[Squire]

On a camping supply site I found canned cheddar cheese from Canada. Is this a popular item up there?

[Rufus]

On a camping supply site I found canned cheddar cheese from Canada. Is this a popular item up there?

Never seen or heard of it; but what do I know! Could be a NAFTA plot to destroy American stomachs

[Squire]

I figured it was a Canuk thing but who knows, those folks live with bears and walk on snow.

[Rufus]

I figured it was a Canuk thing but who knows, those folks live with bears and walk on snow.

Moreover, we live in igloos

[dosco]

I knew it!!

[jww]

On a camping supply site I found canned cheddar cheese from Canada. Is this a popular item up there?

Never seen or heard of it; but what do I know! Could be a NAFTA plot to destroy American stomachs

Same here, although not entirely sure about the NAFTA plot.

[Squire]

Saw the cartoon where two polar bears were ripping the top off an igloo when one of them says, "I just love these things, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle".

[rsp1202]

Canned cheddar cheese and a slab of Spam between a couple of MRE biscuits. If I was Les Stroud I'd call that a feast. Livin' large.

[ShadowsDad]

Ron, there was a time when the B2 cheese unit and the spaghetti from another C Ration was high dining! Such was life when in a foxhole.

Hah! C Rats... that dates me! FWIW, the production date on the ones I ate was from the Korean war. That was in the very early '70s.

But back to canned cheese. There is also such a thing as canned bacon. It's great for camping with no refrigeration. And everyone knows about canned sausages; vienna sausages if nothing else. In Europe I'd buy canned DAK hard salami, and here in the states, when I can find them I buy canned bockwurst from Germany.

Squire, do you have the link to that canned cheese? I do home canning and I'm curious how they did it (irradiated?) . Also, if it was canned powdered cheese.

[Rufus]

Saw the cartoon where two polar bears were ripping the top off an igloo when one of them says, "I just love these things, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle".